Save Organic Standards

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN

U.S. sales of certified organic food and products reached $50 billion in 2017, amounting to more than 5 percent of all grocery store sales, including approximately 10 percent of all produce sales. The global market for organics is worth $90 billion USD, according to the 2018 edition of the study “The World of Organic Agriculture,” published by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and IFOAM – Organics International. According to the study, consumer demand for organic products is increasing, more farmers cultivate organically, more land is certified organic, and 178 countries report organic farming activities.

A more recent report, by BlueWeave Consulting, predicts the U.S. organic food market will be worth $375.98 billion by 2025.

As the U.S. organic sector gains new market share and shatters records each year, it is vitally important to safeguard organic standards, which often means preventing large corporations which are buying up organic brands from using their power and influence to weaken USDA organic standards.

OCA was originally founded out of the need to protect organic standards. The organization was formed in 1998, in Finland, Minnesota, in the wake of the mass backlash by organic consumers against the USDA’s proposal to approve genetic engineering, irradiation and toxic sewage sludge for use in organics.Through OCA's Safeguard Organic Standards Campaign, and through collaboration with allied organizations, the organic community was able to mobilize hundreds of thousands of consumers to pressure the USDA to preserve strict organic standards.

History of the National Organic Program

Before 1990, states could develop their own standards for organic food production and processing. That system caused problems when organic products crossed state lines. It was also confusing for consumers. So in 1990, Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) in order to establish a uniform national organic standards and certification program.

In 1998, the USDA finally released a weak version of a proposed organic rule, one that would have allowed bioengineered crops, sewage sludge, and irradiation in organic. OCA, Beyond Pesticides and many other organizations rallied consumers to protest the rule and eventually prevailed.

Defending organic law

Consumers prevailed in 1998, but the battle to preserve organic standards was just getting started. In 2002, Arthur Harvey, a Maine organic blueberry farmer, sued the USDA for allowing products containing synthetic ingredients to be sold as organic. Harvey argued that under the original OFPA rule, products could be certified organic only if they were 95 percent organic and 100 percent natural—in other words, no synthetic ingredients were allowed. Yet the USDA organic standards, in violation of OFPA, allowed some non-organic substances and synthetic ingredients.

Initially, the courts ruled against Harvey. His lawsuit was also hugely unpopular with many organic producers who said they either couldn't find natural or organic substitutes for the synthetics they used, or couldn't afford them. In 2004, OCA joined other organizations in a lawsuit in support of Harvey.

Then in 2005, an appeals court sided with Harvey, arguing that the USDA organic standards needed to be brought in line with OFPA. The decision led to an "organic industry food fight," and ultimately, to a deal in which the Organic Trade Association negotiated an amendment to OFPA that allowed for synthetics. OCA, along with many other groups, signed an open letter to the OTA decrying not only the amendment, but the undemocratic process used to achieve it.

Ultimately, OCA agreed to support the amendment to avoid a major rewrite of OFPA. In a statement, we said that we agreed that synthetics may be allowed in the “Made With” Organic ingredients category if there is no non-synthetic ingredient currently available, and if the synthetic ingredient is rigorously reviewed by the NOSB.

In April 2014, OCA's political director, Alexis Baden-Mayer was arrested for protesting changes to NOP's process for removing non-organic ingredients and materials from its National List. OCA argued that the changes, made without due process or input from the public, further eroded organic standards and would result in the list of synthetic and non-organic ingredients and materials allowed in organic to grow increasingly, and irreversibly longer.

In April 2016, OCA sued The Honest Company, founded by the Hollywood actress Jessica Alba, and The Hain Celestial Group for falsely labeling products “organic” that contain ingredients prohibited under OFPA.

Policing the organic frauds

Foods labeled "USDA Organic" have long been the gold standard for health and sustainability. But unfortunately, as the organic market expands, big corporations, especially those that gobble up organic brands, are constantly seeking to change the rules so they can label more of their products “organic.” This has led to erosion of both organic standards and consumer trust in the organic label for products such as eggs,milk and even grains. OCA is committed to exposing the fraudulent players in the organic industry, while working fighting for stronger, not weaker, organic standards.

As the USDA organic seal becomes ever murkier in its meaning, what choices are left to us?

We want real organic food. We want vegetables and berries grown in the soil. We want cows and chickens raised on pasture. It sounds so simple And it is what the law guarantees us. And it is what most organic farmers in the U.S. provide.

And yet . . . if we look closer, that’s often not what we’re being offered as organic in the grocery stores. If we pull on the thread, the cloth starts to unravel. We see soil farmers and pasture farmers going out of business for lack of demand, even while we’re desperate to buy the food they grow.

Sewage sludge: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) euphemistically calls it “biosolids.” But what is it really? And why should you care?

As an article from In These Times explains, sewage sludge is:

. . . whatever goes into the sewer system and emerges as solids from municipal wastewater treatment plants. Sludge can be (its exact composition varies and is not knowable) any of the 80,000 synthetic chemicals used by industry; new chemicals created from combining two or more of those 80,000; bacteria and viruses; hospital waste; runoff from roads; pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter drugs; detergents and chemicals that are put down drains in residences; and, of course, urine and feces flushed down toilets.

This toxic stew is sold to farmers who use it to fertilize food crops—a fact most consumers don’t know, because food producers and retailers aren’t required to tell you.

On Tuesday, December 10, the Senate advanced a version of the Farm Bill, in hopes of passing a bill before the end of the year. While the latest version contains some good news for small independent farmers, it also includes a plan that would weaken organic standards.

Tucked into the final version of the 2018 Farm Bill is a seemingly innocuous provision that would undermine organic standards by severely limiting our ability to get synthetic and non-organic substances off of the “National List” of what’s allowed in organic food and farming.

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RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Showcasing some of the most promising, replicable models for growing, processing, and distributing sustainably grown food, this book points the reader toward the next stages of the food revolution. It also covers the full landscape of the burgeoning local-food movement, from rural to suburban to urban, and from backyard gardens to large-scale food enterprises.

Since 1988, The New Organic Grower has become a modern classic and best seller. In this newly revised and expanded edition, master grower Eliot Coleman continues to present the simplest and most sustainable ways of growing top-quality organic vegetables. Coleman updates practical information on marketing the harvest, on small-scale equipment, and on farming and gardening for the long-term health of the soil. Written for the serious gardener or small market farmer, The New Organic Grower proves that, in terms of both efficiency and profitability, smaller can be better.

A series of 8 guides originally published by NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association and sold on this website), on organic principles and practices for both the beginner farmer as well as established farmers looking to convert to organic, or deepen their practices. Each book is 100 pages, but the information is weighty; the guides use a strong whole-systems farming theory behind their practical advice, as well as offer historical information, further resources, detailed appendices, and profiles of various organic farms across the Northeast.

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This material, provided for educational and informational purposes, constitutes a "fair use" of any copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have an interest in using the included information for research and educational purposes. Organic Consumers Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. To support our work, please send a tax-deductible donation to: OCA, 6771 South Silver Hill Dr., Finland, MN 55603Activist or Media Inquiries (218) 226-4164. Text JoinOCA to 97779 to join our mobile network.